SO!!! SO!!! GOOD!!!!

I wasn’t expecting to love this book as much as I do

➺ 3.5/5 🌟 This book is set in a real world where the existence of supernatural and magic are not uncommon. This is not something dark but more whimsical and magical. There is no detailed narrative of the world itself, as if the readers were expected to know that every peculiarity is something ordinary. Some histories, like the six-great's or the town's, expanded the world just a little bit, though. But I think this is the kind of book where too much details isn't necessary to make the plot flow smoothly. This book has a murder mystery elements to it, but it's not the issue of who did it, but how and why it happened. Trigger warning for death, but despite that, I can still consider this as lighthearted and easy to go through. This is a quick read and the writing is very accessible. Not something that would stick with me for a long time, but it was good while I was in the moment. Still very much recommended though, since I think a lot of people really loved it!

This was so fun and cool! I liked the inclusion of various supernatural creatures from various cultures, and the mystery was really poignant and well done!

1 extra life gained for the mention of the word 'asexual'. Also, I am going to bring a zucchini to the next wedding I go to.

3.5 stars It had so many fun elements that I love: kind of a Veronica Mars/Nancy Drew mix with all sorts of fantastical elements. The problem for me was that it skewed younger than I would have liked, and it was a bit convoluted at times. Still, it's not bad!

This book was a cute enough story to keep me interested to finish it, but I felt like the world and it’s magic required more set up. I found myself a bit confused on several plot points throughout the story, and there were some tangents I did not find relevant to the overall plot. I also think the targeted audience is a bit younger than I had anticipated. 

Flawless actually flawless! This was incredible!! I need everybody to read this right now! It’s so magical, the story is amazing, the world building is just so good! I have absolutely nothing bad to say at a l l.  I do know I need more books from this author asap because this was just amazing and so unique!

Elatsoe is a young adult Indigenous mystery that reads like middle grade. And I mean that in the best way possible. Elatsoe, or Ellie to her friends and family, is a seventeen year-old Lipan Apache girl with a really cool ability: following in the footsteps of her ancestors, she can call forth the dead. She most commonly utilizes this dangerous knowledge through the resurrection of her ghost dog, Kirby. He was her best friend in life, and that hasn’t changed since his passing. Ellie also has a human best friend, Jay, cheerleader and research extraordinaire. When death strikes Ellie’s family she, along with help from Jay and Kirby and lots of friends and family along the way, must solve the mystery of the murder before more of her family is endangered.

Ellie was a delight of a character. She has a subtly sunny personality, optimistic without naivety. I loved her relationship with Kirby, and her easy friendship with Jay. Ellie is driven by a love of family, a thirsty mind, and a desire to prove herself, to herself most of all. She’s also asexual which meant, though she is seventeen in this story, the lack of romantic subplot gave said story a more middle-grade feel in terms of tone. Which I absolutely loved, because it allowed me to give my entire focus to the story and the characters. Ellie’s mind was a lovely place to be, and I very much enjoyed my time spent inside her head. I could easily read an entire series of books following her adventures.

Throughout the book, we are given stories about Six-Great, Elatsoe’s ancestor. These were absolutely fascinating, and I loved how they tied into Ellie’s own story. They were a wonderful reminder to learn from the past. I also really loved how much I learned about the Lipan Apache people and their history. And yet this information was conveyed in such a way that it didn’t feel like I was learning, which is a difficult balance to strike.

Elatsoe is a brilliant, fast-paced, fun-to-read mystery, with lots of heart and lovable characters and an emotional ending. I loved the way everything wrapped up. I would highly recommend this to just about any one in any age group, and I can’t wait to read more from Little Badger.

This book is an utter delight and you should read it.

This was so cute. Wholesome, fun, endearing - a great read. I loved the blend of Indigenous lore & magical realism, the twist on vampires - all of it. I hope there's more coming from Elatsoe!

I could reread this immediately and still be as captivated. I finally understand what everyone meant when they said that this book is beautiful and that the writing is technically perfect. It was everything that I didn't even know that I wanted in a book. I had no clue what the heck this book was about except to understand that I was having the best time reading it. The mystery was captivating, the characters were intriguing, the cultural aspects were fascinating...I loved all of it. I wish that I can experience entering Ellie's mind for the first time all over again. That doctor is vile, the magic system(?) is trippy...I just want to gush! I don't know how to be coherent about this one. I'm sorry, I wish I could say something to firmly convince you why you should read this other than adldjfljdlajdkjflkd. Sigh.

my heart cant take this <33

i must've misheard the last 1/3 of this book because... i am so confused???

you know how some books are 5 stars and some are 5 fcking stars??? this is SUCH a satisfying read i love this book to death i cannot for the sake of my life put it down it’s endlessly captivating i love it sm

3.5 stars This book is listed as both middle grade and YA. I would say it's a Middle grade writing style with some YA themes. I listened to the audiobook and thought it was a nice experience. I thought the story was sweet? That sounds like the wrong word because it deals with death and corruption, but it may have been the youthful writing style and the young behavior of our MC (young but brave!). Sometimes her parents even sounded young, like they were in their late 20's, considering our MC was 17? I'm assuming they were at least in their late 30's. I did like Elatsoe and her friend J's friendship (I think that's his name, I have trouble with details when I listen to audiobooks since I'm a visual person lol). I also liked her bond with her ghost dog. I thought the magic that was present in the world was interesting and I wouldn't mind reading more stories about it, like if the author wrote stories following our MC during her paranormal business after she get's out of college....I would read those! I can see myself picking up more stories by this author, I've heard good things about her new book, A Snake Falls to Earth :)

Actual rating: 4.75 stars. I want to give this 5 stars so badly but it’s not giving 5 star feels. 😩 this is such a rich, unique story that had my attention the entire way through. I was invested in the story and getting answers. this book was able to spook me a little which is very rare! I absolutely loved this and will pick up anything darcie little badger writes. I was captivated by the stunning storytelling! and also: love to see a confirmed asexual main character!!!!!!

BELIEVE ME, I WANTED TO LOVE IT. I was so intrigued by the idea and the writing style but in the end I couldn't get into it at all. I just couldn't fall in love with the characters, and that's just a big reason for me to not love a book. Often I thought important details were lost because everything around them was described in such detail. I'M SORRY... I always feel so bad when I can't give a well rated book the credit it apparently deserves.

Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger is a book of magic, monsters, and knowledge. It follows the story of our Lipan Apache MC Elatsoe, who can raise the ghosts of dead animals, as she tries to solve the murder of her cousin in a town that wants secrets to stay buried. Fun tidbit: there is ZERO romance! Elatsoe is confirmed asexual! A breath of fresh air. Richly illustrated and masterfully written!

In a slightly different reality (but not that different, racists are still there), Elatsoe, a Lipan Apache girl, and her ghost dog try to solve a murder mistery. I love this book. Also, asexual representation!

yeahhhhhhhhhhhhh gorgeous book, both the writing and the illustrations

darcie: you can have some casual ace rep. as a treat. good rep without traumatizing characters, making them talk about or do things they’re uncomfortable with, or challenging their knowledge of themselves. authors take note. pros: - great representation - ghost dog - murder mystery - good dad - good best friend (who isn’t homophobic like the best friend of every other ace character!!) - zucchini - did i say ghost dog? cons: - i don’t like folklore/stories within stories. that’s literally it 10/10 would recommend and i cannot wait for more from this author 🥰

3.75 rounded up Elatsoe is such a cute and magical book. I adore it, the beginning of it was a bit slow for me, but after that, the pace started to pick up, and everything just moved right along. I shed a couple of tears by the end of it. I enjoyed reading about Native American mythology since I feel like this is not done very often in books. Our main character Ellie is a Lipan American who knows her family's secret of ghost-calling, which means she can raise the souls of the deceased. Of course, there are rules to do that so she mostly sticks to raising the souls of animals. Her main sidekick? Her ghost dog Kirby. Y'all know that if you give me a dog as a sidekick in any story I am hooked, and this is no exception. Ellie tasks herself to find out who truly killed her cousin because she doesn't believe that his death was an accident. And from then on, the story takes off. And since this is not our normal world, there are mythical creatures around and creatures from fairytales, which makes the book whimsical in its own right. This was truly enjoyable and I think it would a nice spooky read to read around Halloween, so I'm planning to re-read it then.